(Note - I added to the hardening of Pharoah's heart section because I put something totally strange there - I apologize - I was falling asleep as I was writing last night and just wanted to get done. I've added some new info down there for consideration).
Hi everyone,
Well, I thought I would just post a few thoughts on the readings for the last few days before bed. So here we go...
1) God thwarts the plans of the wicked Pharoah when he asks the midwives to kill the Hebrew boys. Moses, we find, escapes Pharoah's wrath on a couple of occasions as well by the hand of God. It just amazes me how God continues to protect His people while they are working out his purposes, and in the process thwarts the plans of the wicked.
2) The burning bush - this is a perennial symbol for Christians of God's calling upon our lives, and his revelation of himself to us. I think it interesting that God's name is introduced to us: "I AM" or "I WILL BE" The Hebrew is YHWH, which is usually pronounced "Yahweh." Yet because the Jewish people are afraid to misuse the Name of the Lord, they choose to call Him Adonai (which means "Lord") when this word appears in the Scriptures. God also promises to bring the Israelites back to the land God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
3) But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses... I think Moses speaks as we might if God showed up to us and called us to lead His people from slavery. We too might ask if God couldn't just choose someone else. But that is not what God wants - God wants us to do His work as he has called us. And he equips us with the strength, the capabilities and the timing to accomplish that wil.
4) Hardens Pharoah's heart - I said last night "Boy, God just has to make this difficult!" He did - because this is a very complex statement. It seems hard to believe, on one hand, that God would harden a man's heart (and thus, presumably, lead him to sin against God). But, as the text indicates, this is what God did. Further, in Romans 9:17-18 says, "For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, 'For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth." So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.' " In other words, what Pharaoh did was by the will of God so that God's Name might be glorified. That seems totally strange to me. Some scholars state that what God did to Pharaoh was to simply intensify Pharaoh's natural inclination away from God (which makes more sense to me), while others argue that God actively, and directly, hardened Pharaoh's heart. I don't think the Christian faith rises and falls on this (per say), but again, it does lead us to wonder why God would cause someone to sin against Him. Again the purpose is to bring glory to God in all this, but I'm not sure how Pharaoh could actually do the will of God in either situation. I don't know the answer, so, needless to say, this is a difficult passage for sure.
5) The circumcision thing: God apparently wanted to kill Moses. Why, you ask, when He just chose Him to lead His people? Well, because circumcision was commanded of God's covenant people, and because those who are uncircumcised are to be "cut off" from their people (what a pun!), Moses' son would have been outside the covenant. And that would not be a good thing. So, Zipporah, his wife, does the circumcision and throws the foreskin at his feet in disgust. I don't know what to say more about this except that sometimes when we seek to live within God's covenant, it creates a messy situation, and it's not always pleasing to everyone.
Well, that's all for now. Have a great night!
In Christ,
Pastor Nathan
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment